PEACE VISIT 2012

Today Leicester Council of Faiths is holding our annual Peace Visit. This is one of what might be called our "signature" events for the benefit of the general public in Leicester (the others being our exhibition in Highcross during Inter Faith Week at the end of November and Holocaust Memorial Day in January).

There are twelve of us when we set off by minibus from Town Hall Square (after a brief welcome from Cllr Manjula Sood, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths). The size of the group varies at each stop; at its height later in the day, there are 13 of us. It's a pleasant, sunny and warm day and we have a nice mix of old hands and new faces among us today.

Stage 1: Jain Centre

Our first stop is the Jain Centre on Oxford Street. The itinerary for the Peace Visit has changed each year (as has the name of the event, which has occasionally gone under different titles). The Jain Centre, however, has been a constant: and no wonder - it's surely the most distinctive among Leicester's many places of worship. I've visited it at least a dozen times and each time I do, something new has been done to the place. There's a nice panel display in a long corridor that's recently been opened up, conveying the history, beliefs, principles and practices of Jainism.

Stage 2: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

This temple has been open to public worship for less than a year, but has already become a major attraction, not only for worshippers but also for tourists. We're shown around by Narendra Waghela, who is one of two representatives of the local Swaminarayan community on Leicester Council of Faiths. He explains a few of the technical secrets behind making the whole site function to award-winning standards. It really is a beautiful place, with something to delight all the senses as well as elevate the soul.

Stage 3: All Saints' Church, Kerrysdale Avenue

We emerge from Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, get into our minibus and cross the road to our next stop. The Church of All Saints serves Leicester's Asian Christian congregation. Originally St Gabriel's (the statue of the Archangel has been retained above the entrance, as you can see top right in the photo above), the church was closed due to falling number of Anglican worshippers and remained unused for two years until it was resurrected in June 2012 for this diverse community. I haven't been to this church today (in either of its forms). We're given a warm welcome (in what is a surprisingly cold building) by the Pastor, Sunny George, and a handful of the congregation.

Stage 4: Guru Ravi Dass Sikh Temple, Harrison Road

Final stop on our short tour is another place I haven't visited before. This temple is named for Guru Ravi Dass, a revered historical figure among Sikhs and Hindus, previously unknown to me. Guru Nanak is reported to have met him and some of his verses are included in the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. Today's been quite an education for me - as are most days in this job!

I reckon that, if we had the resources, we could fill a minibus on this kind of tour once a month. There's certainly variety among the places of worship that we could visit plenty of them with dreary repetition. With adequate promotion, we could surely get a dozen people on board, once a month. Ajay, who is Co-ordinator at Leicester Council of Faiths, organises our annual Peace Visit. I wonder how he'd feel about that ...

HERITAGE OPEN DAY AT LEICESTER SYNAGOGUE

Leicester's Orthodox Synagogue, on Highfield Street, is participating in the Heritage Open Days scheme, receiving visitors today and on Sunday (9 October). The Council of Faiths normally includes the Synagogue in our annual Peace Visit at this time of year, but as that's being held on Saturday (10 October), it won't be on the itinerary this year. Rather than miss out on seeing this building (which I love), I'm making my own visit this morning.

Photo by Ben Ravilious, by permission.

HISTORIC CITY SITES OPEN THEIR DOORS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Historic city sites open their doors

A house haunted by a mischievous 10-year-old, a hotel which took 200 years to open and the oldest brick building in the city are opening their doors free.

Between September 6 and 9, heritage sites across the city which are usually closed to the public or charge for admission will be open for all to see.

At De Montfort Hall on September 6 and 8, the public will have the chance to go backstage.

Leicester's oldest surviving brick building, Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel, in East Bond Street, was built over 300 years ago. It will open on September 8 and 9.

On September 7 and 9, members of the public might catch a glimpse of a Georgian child ghost supposedly haunting the medieval Wygston's House.

At the restored Georgian City Rooms hotel [photo above], visitors can see the ballroom decorated with classic paintings.

The grade I-listed building was built in 1792. It was intended to be Leicester's first hotel but lack of money meant it had to be sold before completion.

After various uses, it finally became a hotel in 2006, after being restored by Naresh and Sharon Parmar and their son Kiran.

Kiran, 26, said: "People who come here fall in love with the hotel and its great Georgian character.

"It's not as well-known as other heritage sites in Leicester but it is slowly becoming more popular as more people realise it's here."

Leicester Council of Faiths has organised a peace visit tour where people will have the chance to visit different religious buildings.

Ajay Aggarwal, co-ordinator of the council, said: "The open days will be a great way of bringing people from different backgrounds together.

"I had never been in a synagogue until this year and it was such a wonderful experience I think everyone should try visiting somewhere new."

For opening times, see: leicester.gov.uk/ heritageopendays

Leicester Council of Faiths would normally hold the Peace Visit tour on the Sunday of the Heritage Open Days weekend. This year that Sunday (9 September) would coincide with Our Leicester Day in Leicester Market. Last year, our scheduled Peace Visit clashed with Our Leicester Day. As we were committed to Our Leicester Day and didn't know how many people would be attending that event (including the kind of people that we'd normally draw on to support the Peace Visit) we cancelled our tour of some of the city's places of worship. This year, we're holding the Peace Visit on the Saturday, which avoids the clash and allows us to do both.